Hackers suspected of links to Iran attack US water systems and critical infrastructure

Trump says there is no prospect of negotiations with Iran Several US government agencies warned on Wednesday (19) that unidentified hackers are trying to break into devices made by Siemens used to monitor and operate water supply systems and other critical infrastructure facilities. ? Follow g1's international news channel on WhatsApp Cybersecurity experts suspect that part of these attacks may be linked to Iran. American authorities, however, have not yet formally established this connection. The warning was released in a joint statement from the National Security Agency (NSA), the FBI, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa), linked to the Department of Homeland Security. According to the agencies, there is an “active threat” against all Siemens S7 series programmable logic controllers. This equipment is used in various critical infrastructure sectors, such as manufacturing, energy, water supply and sewage systems, chemical industry, food production and agriculture. According to the statement, an invasion of devices can, depending on the circumstances, cause the interruption of critical processes, security incidents, downtime and damage to equipment. Attacks can also result in the compromise of confidential data, violations of security standards and cascading impacts on interconnected systems, according to the agencies. Siemens did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The warning comes amid a wave of cyber attacks against local water supply systems in different American states in recent weeks. Use of artificial intelligence Iran's war propaganda against President Donald Trump, in Tehran Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters The agencies also stated that hackers are using artificial intelligence to drastically reduce the technical knowledge and time needed to develop tools capable of exploiting vulnerabilities and compromising systems. Cisa had already warned, on July 30, of a significant increase in the number of hackers trying to target programmable logic controllers. The statement followed up on an alert issued on July 22 in which the agency said Iranian-affiliated hackers were exploiting devices made by Siemens, Rockwell Automation and Schneider Electric. U.S. federal officials have avoided formally attributing recent attacks on local water systems to Iran. On July 31, President Donald Trump stated that he did not believe the country was involved in these actions. At the time, Trump blamed Minnesota for the attacks. The State had been the first to report a wave of at least 30 cyber incidents related to water supply, recorded on July 26th and 27th. VIDEOS: